Difference Between HSDPA 14.4 Mbps VS. 7.2 Mbps

[supersasan@gmail.com]

Hi

I have a Nexus S and i know that it has a HSDPA 7.2 Mb radio. so Theoretically it can download up to 7.2 Megabits / seconds.
A 4G phone like Atrix 4G or some other 4G phone has a 14.4 Mbps radio ( or sometimes higher) so therefore a theoreticall max of 14.4 Mbps ( or higher )

Now in REAL WORLD ( for example : using Speed Test App ) would these two phones be exactly the same until i get to a download speed of 7.2 using a SpeedTest application?

right now my speeds average between 1.7Mbps to 4 Mbps ( or sometimes even 5Mbps) with T-Mobile's network depending on which city i travel to. I want to know if i will notice a difference if i switch to a 4G phone. if my speed is not even close to the cap of 7.2Mbps my radio transmitter can handle, then why should i switch to a 4G phone?! the network can't even support a 7.2 Mbps speed... right?

I would appreciate if someone can explain this for me.

Thanks.

 

[ls377]

The Nexus S only has a HSPA radio, while the "4G" phones have HSPA+. If you go to an area where they have upgraded the network to HSPA+, then you should get higher speeds then you are currently getting.